[A/N] To the, like, ten people that actually read this, I'm sorry for the late chapter. Midterms and stuff made life crazy. Here's the new chapter. I hope you guys enjoy,and next chapter well most likely involve a sex scene. If that's a problem, then you may want to stop reading now. And I have a feeling that this story will be reaching a conclusion soon. Primarily because there are other things I want to work on, and school work. Who knows. Welp, that's that. TTFN
In the space of five seconds, I learned a new skill. Now, this skill has become invaluable to me, but in the beginning it was coarse, and unrefined. Thinking and talking at the exact same time, as I'm sure most people know, is impossible. So is listening and thinking in two separate conversations. It's rather difficult to communicate with two different people at the same time. Tom being outside of my own head also made it fairly difficult to converse with him. I had to verbally talk to Tom. And Harry. At the same time. Here's what I did:
"You've been in my thoughts." Which I hoped Tom would realize meant "Why are you in the real world?"
"I've missed you too, Ginny. I'm glad you could be here with me." Harry would reply.
"I don't know how this happened, Ginny. I guess I was right after all." Tom would say.
"It feels weird having you here with me. I've missed it."
"I've missed it too. It's been too long." Harry would say, completely oblivious to this situation.
"Whatever the reason, it looks like you're going to have to do this double-talk thing until I return to your thoughts." Tom, chiding me.
"Let's just find a way to make things the way they once were, okay?"
"Ginny..." Harry pulled me close, nuzzling me into his neck. He purred deeply in his throat, his eyes closed while mine darted between Tom sitting on a desk and Harry's chest. At this moment, there was no way to explain how this had happened. It just did. Tom reappeared, unbidden by me, and against his own volition. He just did. The second I touched Harry. Was that it? Was this the reason Tom was here?
Like Potter. The more time you spend with him, the more that piece of me still in him resonates, and makes itself known.
This visit was going to be fun after all.
Regardless of what this meant, Harry was becoming a rather hot topic. All around us eager young first years were gathering in a circle, snickering or with mouth agape. By simply standing here we were putting on a show, the first years pushing and shoving like children trying to look at the Gorilla in the zoo's cage.
"Let's leave. You're causing a scene and Luna's dying to see you again." I grabbed him by the hand and pulled him through the portrait hole. In the corridor Harry's presence still stirred some shocked faces, but being in the open helped lessen the oppressive feeling of their gaze. We made our way to the Great Hall, hand in hand with Tom two steps behind. The doors opened wide with a deafening boom, announcing our appearance louder than giants could. The Hall fell silent as all eyes settled on the thunderbolt scar visible in every copy of the prophet, all the best-selling books at Flourish and Blotts, several million posters hung all over the wizarding world, and (more recently) chocolate frog cards. For a second I was almost thankful for the silence, until a Hufflepuff thought it'd be a good idea to start cheering.
Fuck.
The Great Hall seemed to explode at the seams, while I slipped from underneath Harry and found a seat. Harry waved at everybody, accustomed as he was to the limelight. I found a place close to the faculty table, and waited until the applause died down. Harry then joined me, ignoring requests for autographs, and slipped his hand in mine under the table. Tom stood in a corner, silently brooding, envy and annoyance pushing their way into my thoughts.
"Settle down a little. You're getting loud."
When breakfast appeared, Harry and I ate and drank like we were back at the burrow. Luna eventually made her way into the Hall, a dreamy smile becoming stronger as she got closer to the spectators. After a lot of Shield and Confundus Charms, she was finally able to force her way through, and join us.
"Hello Ginny. Hi Harry." She turned from me to him, her smile becoming more solid and defined as her eyes flashed.
"Hi Luna. How have you been? It's nice to see you again."
They exchanged more pleasantries, but I was totally zoned out. Tom, still standing in the corner, was now blocked from view by entirely too many students. Finally having him back, physically, meant more than anything. I was finally able to see and feel him again, and we could converse mentally without being bothered by the distractions of Harry and his incessant chattering. I called out to him and he appeared by my side. I placed my hand under the table and he grabbed it. I looked at Luna, turning my face into a blank mask while Tom talked in my ear.
"So you do need to be near a horcrux for this to happen. Or at least what once was a horcrux. This is just great." He started stroking my cheek, his expression hard. "The only way I can feel you, or you me is when this wart is here, touching you the ways I want to. Although not as well."
I thought back to that second date, Tom's temporary control over Harry as we had sex. Would Harry ever have been that good if Tom wasn't around?
"I guess this puts an end to your little 'experimentation'. Now you know you mostly need Potter around to feel me."
But what about the bathroom? When you materialized there?
"There was a mirror there, and you were able to feel a ghost of me. I'm more physical with a horcrux around, even if it is still a ghost of a sensation. It seems like a dumbbell: my weight depends on how many extra pieces there are. That or I could feed off of your energy, like the first time. But that's entirely too risky, and I won't do it again."
Unfortunately, he was right. It seemed the only way to feel him the way I was now was with Harry around. Or a horcrux.
I pulled my wand out underneath the table.
"Muffliato."
This was the first time I'd ever used this spell, having learned it over the summer from Harry. The entire assembly poked around their ears, swatting at their heads, attempting to rid themselves of my curse. Harry looked at the assembly and knew what happened.
"Is something the matter?" Harry tilted his head to one side and looked at me, curious.
"I just needed a break. So how have you been in my absence?"
"I've been better. Since you've been gone I've been having nightmares at least once a week, dreaming of all the horcruxes coming back, fully formed, and ready to bring him back."
He held my hand tighter, his clammy grip squeezing the blood from my fingers, numbing them in the process. I nuzzled him closer, trying to find a way to press the issue without raising suspicion. He seemed content to give me all the information on his own accord.
"It's that damn ring. Sure, it was destroyed, but I can't shake the feeling that I shouldn't have left it where I did."
"You should listen to your dreams, Harry. Dreams are a powerful thing. My mom had a dream that the spell she was working on would kill her, and it did. If she'd listened to her dream, she wouldn't have blown herself up. The things you learn..." At this moment, Luna was a god-send. I watched her words sink into his face, and knew he would fetch the ring. Then she simply had to ruin it. "Of course, if the horcruxes coming together is what's so terrifying, maybe it's best that you divide them, hide them again. Either way, you'll sleep better knowing they're some place safe."
If he hid the horcrux, my chances were slim. I could have taken the ring as soon as he'd gotten it. I'd have worn it around and let Tom stand by my side, invisible to all but me. If he hid it, wherever he might have hidden it, there was no chance of that happening.
"Regardless of what I do with it, I need to do something about it. Ginny, would you come with me? I'm not entirely comfortable alone with those... things."
Jesus be praised, my window was opened. Somewhere to my side, Tom got up and started dancing a jig, the action perfectly coinciding with how I felt inside. "Sure, but I've got class. Maybe after dinner?"
"Of course. Now go to class. I think I'll visit some professors or something." And with that, the conversation was over.
Classes could not have moved more slowly if I'd gone back in time to retake them. Tom was back in my head, except for the rare reflection in windows, when I could see him sitting in a reflection of a chair, reading what I can only guess to be the memory of a book. It was almost depressing. His world, the part of it that I could see was nothing more than a world in a mirror, interacting with nothing more than a shade of an item. The books in my memory certainly couldn't have been that good either, having been exposed to my mother's romance novels about 2-D women addicted to the drama of dating between two of three species, and textbooks.
But still, the thought was interesting. After having passed another window, watching him read what appeared to be a cookbook, I finally decided to ask.
'Tom?'
Yes, Ginny?
'If you can read my memory of books, can you see my memories themselves?'
Yes, and I have in the past. Back when I was the sociopath of yesteryear. After going through the first five or six years of your life, I started developing that... love. Since then it felt wrong. There were parts of you that only you should have told me. Why do you ask?
'After spending five years of my life trapped in my head, it seems weird that you haven't run out of memories of books by now.' To be frank, I was no Hermione. Books just weren't my thing.
I did, a while back. Normally I just listened to your thoughts, stepping away when they got too intimate. Or lived vicariously, feeling your reactions to the moment and amusing myself that way. Being trapped in your head, able to think about everything. I think that's what really saved me from myself.
'You can g-'
BANG
In the middle of my thoughts, of our conversation, I found a way to run into the only suit of armor for fifty feet. The noise snatched curious students from their classes, and Peeves thought it was his cue, starting to knock over more armor in unseen parts of the castle. Without looking out of his classroom, an unseen Professor Mertenson said "Ten points from whoever started that blasted poltergeist up again!"
He rounded the door. "Oh. Hello Ms. Weasley. Ten points from Gryffindor. Now class is about start, would you care to join us, or are you hurt?"
My face turned as red as my hair, and I found a seat somewhere in the back.
"Good, everyone's here. Have you practiced your Shield Charms?" Almost everyone nodded their heads. "Good. Now everyone, please pick a partner and let's begin."
A mouse of a Hufflepuff came up to me. Her hair was teased and curled out of her face, giving her pointed nose, long face, and huge eyes more space to stand out. Shifting her weight from one foot to the other, she nervously asked to be my partner, and we began cursing each other. Her Shield Charm was not particularly strong. The leg locking jinx that should have rebounded on me ended up blasting right through the invisible bubble and tripping her up. After watching in amusement for about thirty seconds, I undid my jinx and let her attack. When she finally gained her feet, she unexpectedly shot a Stunning Spell at me, which I rebounded on her with almost unconscious ease.
Although I enjoyed watching the mouse scurry about, protecting and ducking her spells and mine, the fact that it was a non-verbal spell made this mentally grueling, and allowed me no time to talk with Tom. Instead, he whispered in the back of my mind, telling me how to make the shield stronger.
"Very Good, Ginny. Very good." Mertenson came up behind me, and pat me on the shoulder and walked away.
The creep. Every time he looks at you I feel like he sees me. After he mentioned it, there was a strange glimmer in the professor's eyes, but I dismissed it.
With the end of class, I rushed back to the common room. Harry wasn't there(obvious by the lack of fan boys and fan girls), so I sat at a table and talked to Tom.
'The first thing I'm going to do once you're physical is screw your brains out. No complaints.'
None to be heard. But we're not doing anything in that blasted dormitory. It just feels so weird.
'Agreed. Room of requirement?'
That'll be interesting. I wonder what the room will turn into since I don't have a real body.
While Tom and I pondered this thought, the overly zealous squeals of tweeny girls let me know that Harry was climbing through the portrait hole. I turned around just in time to have Harry draped over my shoulders like a tattered cloak.
"I've missed you." He kissed my cheek several times, leaving the sloppy imprint of his lips behind.
"I've missed you too. We should go get the ring before it gets too dark outside." Despite the calm in my voice, my heart was racing. I wanted nothing more than to tear from the room and get the bloody horcrux. Wherever it was.
"Right. Let's go then, shall we?" And with the Harry unfastened himself from my neck. He held his hand out to me and I took it. He made a pathetic effort to lift me from the chair, and when he failed I pulled myself up. Keeping my hand in his, we walked towards the entrance, stares and shrieks of joy surrounding us as we went. It got to the point that I cast Muffliato on myself, just to get away from the sounds of hormonal women. When we reached the grounds, I undid the jinx, and followed Harry's lead.
"It's just down here. Somewhere in the forest." We banked right and headed down a hill, to a trail pounded lifeless by the hordes of Death Eaters that once hid inside."Look for a silver ring with a stone in it." The trees above us blocked a good portion of the light. Although it was barely twilight, the branches over our heads gave one the impression of midnight.
"Lumos" Harry and I said simultaneously. Our wands lit up to alleviate the darkness in front of us, but even with the added help, it seemed almost impossible to find a tiny ring in all the brush. The situation seemed almost hopeless.
"Harry. Why don't we just try Summoning it?" It seemed rather logical.
The ring can't be summoned. It would have defeated the purpose of all my traps if you could do that. Tom read my mind. Again.
"I don't know about that. When I was with Dumbledore, I tried Summoning the ring, but it was dragged back to the dish. I don't know if it was a Charm on the horcrux itself, or bowl, or anything. All I know is that after we tried to Summon it, this weird hand thing shot up and dragged it back to the basin."
That's brilliant! If we Summon the horcrux, it'll rise above the ground gently, and from that we'll be able to physically pick it up. "Harry, it rose. We don't need it to come right to us. We just need to know where it is."
"BRILLIANT! Would you like to do the honors?"
I rolled up my sleeves, cleared my thoughts. Whatever you do, don't say "horcrux". The ring isn't technically one anymore, and even if you can Summon it using "horcrux", there's a chance it'll affect Harry as well.
"Accio Ring."
About thirty yards in front of us a pale green light shone as the ring lifted itself from the ground. A loud crack sounded from the spot and it fell back to the earth. Harry raced forward, like a dog after a frisbee.
"I've got it!" He held the ring high in the air, relief shining through his face like the sun out of his ass. "Now where should we hide it?"
"Give it to me. I'll hide it, that way you won't have to think about its safety too much." I put my hand out, hoping the quickened beating of my heart didn't show through my chest.
"Ginny... can you do it? Are you sure? I don't want to burden you too much."
"Are you saying I'm not strong enough? Not smart enough? Do you doubt me that much?" The words settled into the very core of his being, and I knew I won. Playing the guilt card was almost too effective.
Harry reluctantly put the ring in my hand, and I slipped it into my pocket. After that I "stormed" from the spot, hoping he'd take the hint and leave me be. Instead, he chased after me. "Don't you dare touch me." The words stung him, and we walked back to the castle in silence.
I slipped my hand in my pocket. After I found the ring again I silently slipped it onto my finger.
"It feels good to be physical without Potter touching you." Tom grabbed me by the waist, and we walked to the castle, Harry trailing behind silently. I could tell he was angry, that I'd hurt him. I could feel his gaze trying to melt through me, but I didn't care. Tom whispered things in my ear, and I was happy to listen, while Harry remained silent, and I was the single happiest person in the world.